Why Jack Hates Robots
by only-some-loser
Summary: Mac's ankle is shattered when BRUNO backs him up onto the van, and Jack isn't there to help him through it. (tag to 2x13, CO2 Sensor Tree Branch, episode AU)


****AN: This is the thirty-fourth installment of my personal challenge to write a tag for every episode. This is a tag to 2x13, CO2 Sensor + Tree Branch, and it's kind of an alternate ending to the episode. I really didn't like Allie, so that is quickly addressed in this, just a forewarning. It's not my favorite episode, and likewise, this is not my favorite tag, but oh well. Something about it just feels off, but idk how to fix it, so this is what you get. Regardless, I hope you enjoy, and please leave a review!****

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Everything happened too fast for Mac to really think about it. Maybe if BRUNO had been even half a second slower, Mac would've jumped to the side instead of trying to climb on top of the van. But it wasn't half a second slower, and Mac did try to climb up the hood of the van. He wasn't fast enough. Mac pulled his body clear, and was bringing his left leg up when BRUNO hit. He screamed as his foot and ankle were shattered by the robot, clutching the car with all he had to keep himself from falling off it.

BRUNO then pulled away, with Allie trapped inside. Bozer quickly got out of the car and ran to his friend's side.

"Mac, are you okay?" he asked, panic in his voice. Mac let out another cry, his eyes squeezed shut against the pain. He quickly shook his head, and tried to focus on breathing through it. He still had to stop BRUNO and help Allie.

"My ankle is broken, but you have to help me hot wire a car and go after them," Mac said, breathing deeply as he tried to push the white hot pain away from his mind. He let himself slide down off the hood and set his good foot on the ground, still holding his left foot up. "Bozer," he said, almost begging his friend to come to his side and help him. "I can't take my own weight, I _need_ you to help me. We have to go after them or else a lot of people could die."

"Mac, you need to go to a hospital, and let another team finish this," Bozer replied. He still came to Mac's left side to take as much of his friend's weight as he could.

"There aren't any other teams as close by, and we don't have time. _Please_ , Boze," Mac said as the two walked away towards an empty car. Bozer didn't reply, but did help Mac to walk towards it. He followed everything that Mac told him to do to hot wire it, but Mac insisted that he drive, not Bozer.

"You are in no position to be driving right now. You aren't even in a position to be anywhere but a hospital," Bozer said, his eyes full of concern. Mac knew his friend was right, but that didn't change the fact that Mac had to drive. In order to stop BRUNO, one of them would eventually have to get out of their own car. Mac knew he couldn't do it, so left Bozer to do the hero work, and Mac to drive. There were only two of them after all. Mac wasn't sure if he had ever missed Jack more in his life. His ankle and foot hurt more than anything he'd experienced in a long time, and he'd kill to be able to leave the mission and go to the hospital, to get a pretty serious cast if not surgery. But you couldn't always get what you wanted in his line of work, and that meant that Mac just had to be thankful that it was his left foot and not his right, and drive through the pain.

"I have to, okay? Because when it's time for someone to be the hero, you're the only one who can right now. I can't, and we both know that. But there are only two of us, which means that I have to drive. We don't have time to argue this, so _please_ just help me into the car," Mac pleaded, his eyes still shining with pain.

Bozer grumbled, but obliged. Mac bit his lip and squeezed his eyes shut through the pain. He could do this, he had to. Mac heard Jack's voice in his mind, telling him that everything was going to be okay, and that he could make it through this. But Jack wasn't here right now, so Mac had to be his own anchor.

Driving hurt like hell. His foot was just resting on the ground, but the blood running through it and gravity pulling it into the carpet made it feel like it was on fire. Bozer called Matty and filled her in on what happened. He was able to get a flash drive to plug into BRUNO, but it had to happen directly.

"You can do this, Boze," Mac said, his voice shaky due to the pain. "I know you can do this." They had no other choice but for Bozer to climb out of the car and onto BRUNO while both were still moving. Bozer continued to psych himself up while they made their way closer and closer, until eventually it was go time.

Mac had never been prouder of his friend. Bozer did it. He saved Allie, and more importantly, the Pentagon. Bozer had really shown his bravery and quality as an agent, and Mac beamed despite his pain. However, his smile fell when he caught the conversation going on between Bozer and Allie. She was hugging him tightly and telling him how much of a hero he was, how amazing he was, and how much she liked him. She was right, of course, Bozer was amazing, but that wasn't the point. Allie had been lying the whole time. Mac could see the way she was looking at Bozer. It was the same way she had looked at him when they first met, and how she looked at him now when she thought she might be able to use him again. That's all this was to her. This was just another opportunity to gain someone else's trust only to break it later for her own personal gain. Mac shouldn't have been surprised, but he liked to see the best in people, so he was.

"Mac?" came Marty's voice through the coms.

"Yeah, I'm here," Mac replied. He had forgotten that she was there.

"I have an ambulance coming your way, and Jack is going to meet you at the hospital as soon as he can. He's already on a jet to Virginia, so he should be at the hospital within an hour or two. And blondie, I'm proud of you," she finished in a much fonder voice than she usually employed when talking to her agents.

"Thanks, Matty," he said with a smile. The ambulance was there less than a minute later. The paramedics carefully helped Mac out of the car and into the ambulance.

"Mac!" Bozer called out. The man quickly jogged over before the doors closed. "I have to stay and take care of this mess, but I promise that I'm gonna meet you at the hospital the moment I can, okay?" he said, concern in his eyes. It was clear that he didn't want to leave Mac to go to the hospital himself, but he didn't really have a choice. Mac understood that.

"It's okay. I'm proud of you," Mac replied, just as the paramedics closed the doors. He didn't get to see Bozer's response, but that was okay, because he knew that his friend knew. Now it was time to steel himself for a ride in an ambulance and a trip to the hospital by himself. Mac knew it was silly to hate them so much, but he couldn't help it. It was one of his least favorite things in the world, but at least he usually had Jack to get his mind off everything that was going on. He didn't have Jack this time, or even Bozer. Mac took a deep breath to calm himself. Jack would be there soon anyway.

* * *

The moment that Matty had told Jack that Mac had been hurt, he could feel his heart sink. How bad was it? Would the kid be okay? How quickly could he get to Virginia? All these questions and more were his immediate responses to Matty, who remained surprisingly patient with him. He would be meeting Mac at the hospital in roughly two hours, including travel time to the jet and from the jet to the hospital. That was two hours too long in Jack's opinion, but there wasn't much he could do about that.

Those two hours were spent with Jack coming up with all of the worst case scenarios he could. Would Mac ever regain full use of his foot? Would he even be able to walk, much less work again? Would he lose the foot? Jack knew he was likely working himself up much more that he should, but he couldn't help it. That kid meant everything to him and he should be there with him.

One hour and fifty-eight minutes after Matty had told him he'd be there in two hours, Jack was walking into Mac's hospital room.

"Hey, kiddo," he greeted, taking a seat in the plastic chair next to the bed. Mac's leg was elevated, and an IV was sticking out of his arm - pain meds most likely. His eyes were squeezed shut, but Jack knew he wasn't asleep.

"Jack," Mac said as he breathed out a sigh of relief. "How was the reunion?" he asked with a small smile.

Jack laughed. "It was fine. We'll talk about it back at Phoenix, okay?" They needed to be focused on what was going to happen with Mac's shattered foot right now, not Jack's high school reunion. Mac's gaze narrowed they say it did whenever he was planning something, but he nodded and seemed to let the subject go, so Jack let it slide. "What's the damage?" he asked in a much more somber tone.

Mac sighed, saying, "I'll save you the medical jargon, but the bottom line is that I've narrowly avoided needing surgery, and the bones should all heal fine with a cast. Everything's broken but everything stayed in the place it was supposed to, so there's no need for surgery. They're supposed to get me casted and bring in some different medical boots and crutches in a few minutes now. Bozer was gonna swing by, but I told him to meet me outside since I would be leaving soon. I'll be leaving within the hour," he explained.

It was Jack's turn to breathe a sigh of relief. Mac was going to be okay. He was going to make a full recovery. That news was music to Jack's ears.

"That is amazing to hear, brother. I am so sorry that I wasn't here to help you when this happened, but I promise you that I am going to be here throughout your entire recovery, okay?" Jack said, resting his hand on Mac's. The two shared gentle eye contact.

"I know you will, and don't worry. You couldn't have stopped this from happening anyway."

"Yeah, you probably would've needed Schwarzenegger for that," Jack added with a grin. The two spent the rest of the time before the doctors came back arguing about robots, their pros and cons, and oddly enough, whether or not chicken noodle soup was in fact the supreme leader of all soups. But no matter what, Jack was just happy that Mac was going to be okay. It would be a long recovery, but like he said, he was going to be with him through it all.


End file.
